Human and non-human animal use of microbial anaplerotic oil

Abstract

Disclosed are techniques and systems for producing microbials having anaplerotic oils that are rich in odd-chain fatty acids, and other beneficial components, at higher concentrations than those present in other natural dietary sources of OCFA, at lower cost, and higher production yield. Further, disclosed are examples of incorporation of these higher concentration OCFA products into food for human and non-human animal consumption.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A food additive comprising anaplerotic oil derived from a microorganism cultured aerobically with propionate or a precursor thereof, wherein the anaplerotic oil comprises saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA), wherein:
 at least 5% of the anaplerotic oil from the microorganism's total fatty acid (TFA) content is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA; and 
 at least 2.2% cell dry weight (CDW) of the biomass from the microorganism is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA. 
 
     
     
       2. The food additive of  claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is cultured aerobically with propionate. 
     
     
       3. The food additive of  claim 2 , wherein pentadecanoic acid makes up greater than 18% of the TFA content of the anaplerotic oil and/or heptadecanoic acid makes up greater than 5% of the TFA content of the anaplerotic oil. 
     
     
       4. The food additive of  claim 2 , wherein saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA comprise a range of 5% to 60% of the TFA content of the anaplerotic oil. 
     
     
       5. The food additive of  claim 2 , wherein the microorganism is a species from the class Labyrinthulomycetes. 
     
     
       6. The food additive of  claim 5 , wherein microorganism is a thraustochytrid. 
     
     
       7. A food for consumption by human and non-human animals, said food comprising anaplerotic oil derived from a microorganism cultured aerobically with propionate or a precursor thereof, wherein the anaplerotic oil comprises saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA). 
     
     
       8. The food of  claim 7 , wherein the microorganism is cultured aerobically with propionate. 
     
     
       9. The food of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the food is a dairy product; and 
 the % total fatty acid (% TFA) of saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA is at least 5.5% greater than the % TFA of saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA in a substantially identical dairy product that does not contain the anaplerotic oil. 
 
     
     
       10. The food of  claim 8 , wherein the microorganism is a species from the class Labyrinthulomycetes. 
     
     
       11. The food of  claim 10 , wherein microorganism is a thraustochytrid. 
     
     
       12. A processed food product or food component comprising a food additive, the food additive comprising anaplerotic oil derived from a microorganism cultured aerobically with propionate or a precursor thereof, wherein the anaplerotic oil comprises saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) odd-chain fatty acids (OCFA). 
     
     
       13. The processed food product or food component of  claim 12 , wherein the microorganism is cultured aerobically with added propionate. 
     
     
       14. The processed food product or food component of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the processed food product or food component is a dairy product; and 
 the % total fatty acid (% TFA) of saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA is at least 5.5% greater than the % TFA of saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA in a substantially identical dairy product that does not contain the anaplerotic oil. 
 
     
     
       15. The processed food product or food component of  claim 13 , wherein the microorganism is a species from the class Labyrinthulomycetes. 
     
     
       16. The processed food product or food component of  claim 15 , wherein microorganism is a thraustochytrid. 
     
     
       17. The food additive of  claim 1 , wherein:
 at least 2.7% CDW of the biomass from the microorganism is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA. 
 
     
     
       18. The food additive of  claim 1 , wherein:
 at least 14.7% CDW of the biomass from the microorganism is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA. 
 
     
     
       19. The food additive of  claim 1 , wherein:
 at least 25% CDW of the biomass from the microorganism is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA. 
 
     
     
       20. The food additive of  claim 1 , wherein: up to 39.25% CDW of the biomass from the microorganism is saturated tridecanoic (C13:0), pentadecanoic (C15:0), and heptadecanoic (C17:0) OCFA.